By Ha Er-rui | 2026-03-20

Australia has become the first country outside the United States to produce Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets, a move the government said was "bolstering resilience and reducing reliance on international supply chains."

In early March, Australia's Department of Defense announced the opening of its first domestic factory at Port Wakefield, South Australia state. The facility is dedicated to producing GMLRS weaponry for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), with the first batch due to roll off the line in mid-March.

Cornerstone of domestic defense manufacturing

This project is a cornerstone of one of Australia's five major defense manufacturing programs. It forms a key part of the country's 21 billion AUD ($14.8 billion) Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Plan slated for the next decade.

The effort "reaffirms our defense partnership with the United States, including our growing collaboration on guided weapons and explosive ordnance, and will equip our ADF [Australian Defense Force] with long-range strike capability that will help keep Australians safe," Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy said in December.

To expand its long-range strike capability and advance the Anthony Albanese government's goal of building a sovereign guided weapon industry, Australia's Department of Defense partnered with Lockheed Martin to launch local GMLRS production.

Construction crews built the Port Wakefield facility in less than seven months, following the training of the first group of Australian workers at Lockheed Martin's plant in Camden, Arkansas.

"The completion of this state-of-the-art facility marks a key milestone for the Australian government's GWEO Enterprise," said Paula Hartley, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Tactical Missiles.

"By establishing domestic production of GMLRS, we are strengthening sovereign capability and ensuring full compatibility with US inventories," she added.

Goal of 4,000 missiles a year

The Australian government hopes this stand-alone production site will meet its long-term target of producing 4,000 missiles annually by 2029. The ultimate goal is to build a complete missile manufacturing capability so Australia can replenish its own munition stockpiles in a future war.

"By having the capacity for the domestic manufacture of these weapons, Australia will have increased its resilience and ability to hold adversaries at risk, thus enabling the deterrence effects that underpin the National Defense Strategy," Australian Brig. Jim Hunter, who oversees guided weapon production, noted in early March.

Australia's intention is to match exactly the quality of weapons made in the United States, he said.

Canberra aims to reduce its long-standing reliance on foreign supply chains, which could force it to wait years for replenishment in a crisis. The GMLRS, a highly mobile rocket system primarily used by HIMARS, has a 70km range range, as well as precision guidance and control systems for course correction during flight.

Australia's longer-term goal for the assembly facility is to eventually produce the more advanced Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), capable of striking targets 1,000km away. Following joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran in late February, footage released by US Central Command showed a missile fired by an M142 HIMARS having visual characteristics consistent with the PrSM. The footage indicated that the PrSM may have seen combat use already.

Cooperation with Taiwan possible

Reflecting on these regional developments, Kao Chih-jung, an assistant research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, wrote on the institute's website that while Taiwan and Australia do not share a formal alliance, the 2026 Indo-Pacific security environment leaves significant room for cooperation.

Areas such as artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare present unique opportunities. Taiwan could leverage its semiconductor strengths to become a supplier of key components for Australia's development of drone swarms and precision missiles, said Kao.

In addition, since both Taiwan and Australia operate common US-made platforms, including the F-16V, HIMARS and M1A2 tanks, they have strong complementary potential in logistical maintenance and spare-part support.

Taiwan could leverage its high-tech industrial strengths to pursue "industrial cooperation on low-cost strike systems needed for 'asymmetric warfare capabilities,' or even contract manufacturing or licensed production by Australian firms of missiles that meet the shared needs of Taiwan and Australia," said Kao.